One such bright idea was Gili Meno. 'A Paradise' they said. The trip out was fraught in a manner than we weren't quite prepared for after all of the joys of Ubud. But it improved on the final leg with a splash-tastic boat ride across some beautiful, still waters that also included a large barracuda being caught by the boatboys whilst we were at it.
The island, on the surface, was a paradise. Soft sands, luscious jungles and idyllic homestays. But it was hot. You've arguably never been so hot in your life. There was nothing to do but 'zombie around' (that's the words I used at the time it seems) and try not to melt. Even the couple of walks that we tried to take at reasonable hours of the day were aborted due to mosquitos and heat, respectively.
The homestay was a bamboo construction on stilts. We didn't manage to sleep a wink due to its overly-close proximity to the sea - which seemed to be getting closer and closer as each hour passed. We later attributed our 'freaked out' nights to the fact that it was haunted and that the much-reported suicide on a neighbouring island had screwed up the place's 'balance'. Ok.
And the only place to eat that seemed safe was this creepy pergola set amongst a forest of trees that had been strung up with fairylights for Christmas that played tunes. We decided that the whole thing was like something out of a David Lynch movie.
It was, of course, very touristy and we made chums with a couple of medical students from the UK who were taking their commitment to tanning very seriously indeed. The heat didn't seem to bother them in the slightest.
But my first and only foray into snorkelling was a triumph - the coral, the blue seas and the hundreds of fish. 'You can see where they got the inspiration for batik from' I wrote.
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